Bomb-making items allegedly tied to Glendale assault suspect

Hambardzum Rushanyan was arrested on suspicion of possessing bomb-making materials as well as assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her mother.

Hambardzum Rushanyan was arrested on suspicion of possessing bomb-making materials as well as assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her mother. (Courtesy of the Glendale Police Department)

Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Investigators recovered bomb-making materials this week inside a big rig, which they reportedly linked to a Glendale man who was being investigated for assaulting his ex-girlfriend with a sledgehammer, police said.

The materials were found in a big rig parked in a storage yard in Santa Clarita, Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot said. Rushanyan reportedly didn't own the truck, but he drove it, she added.

He reportedly sent his ex-girlfriend a text message with a photograph of gun parts, gun powder and a possible pipe, saying he had the materials to make an explosive and was going to make a bomb, Lightfoot said.

"She took it as a threat," she added.

Rushanyan's ex-girlfriend showed the photograph to police after he was arrested on Feb. 27 on suspicion of breaking into her home in the 1300 block of East Windsor Road and assaulting her.

Rushanyan was armed with a sledgehammer when he entered his ex-girlfriend's home and choked her 67-year-old mother, Lightfoot said.

His ex-girlfriend initially fled the home during the assault. When she returned, Rushanyan also choked her, she said.

He reportedly used the sledgehammer to "destroy" her home, according to police.